Life Insurance

Every successful financial plan should include adequate life insurance coverage. Life insurance protects your dependents from financial loss in the event of your untimely death. Life Insurance provides an umbrella of protection for your financial plans. It not only protects what you already have (like providing funds to pay off the mortgage on your home) but also helps ensure the attainment of unfulfilled financial goals (such as the future education of your children).

How Much Do I Need?

For most people, one of the biggest unknowns about life insurance is how to answer the question of “how much”? To determine an amount for your individual situation, consider the following:

What will your family's immediate needs be in the event of your untimely death?

What financial goals and ongoing needs will you need to provide for?

Immediate needs can include the final expenses associated with a terminal illness, burial costs, estate taxes, and the balance of an unpaid mortgage.

After determining your current and future financial obligations, subtract this amount from your total available resources. This may sound simple enough, however if you need assistance, please feel free to call or email Tim or Sandy for a free consultation.

Now that you have determined how much you need, next you need to select the type of policy you would like to purchase.

Choosing The Type of Life Insurance

Life insurance comes in two basic forms:

Term life insurance and

Permanent life insurance (also known as whole life, universal life, or cash value)

Knowing which one is appropriate for you means understanding what need you are trying to satisfy. Term policies provide life insurance for a specified period of time. Term policies provide benefits in the event of death, but they generate no “cash value”. If you have a limited amount to spend, and only need the benefit for a finite period of time (for instance, until the mortgage is paid off, or until your children graduate from college), you may be able to get more coverage by acquiring term insurance than with permanent insurance.

Permanent insurance combines death benefits with a cash accumulation feature. The buyer of a cash value policy pays more in the early years than for term insurance, but the money not needed to pay for the cost of death benefit accumulates with interest. If the policy is surrendered before the insured dies, there may be a cash value paid to the owner. In addition, you can take loans from your policy's cash value. As a general rule, it is not a good idea to buy permanent life insurance if you plan to surrender early, as there may be a penalty to do so. If all premiums are paid, cash value insurance usually lasts for the entire life of the insured person, and pays death benefits to the beneficiaries named in the policy upon the death of the insured.

This information is no substitute for the guidance and assistance you'll receive by meeting with our financial professionals. Please give us a call if you would like a free quote or life insurance review